Image display apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A method for operating an image display apparatus having a first display and a second display different from the first display includes displaying an image on the first display, displaying a search window on the second display, and displaying search results matching a search term entered in the search window.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED ED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2009-0107657, filed on Nov. 9, 2009, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

One or more embodiments described herein relate to displayinginformation.

2. Background

A variety of image display apparatuses have been proposed. Some of themhave been equipped with increased functionality. However, none of theseapparatuses offer a way of allowing a user to obtain and displayinformation on programming and internet content, whether related or not,in an efficient and cooperate manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of an image display apparatusthat includes two independent display units.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing examples of how the image displayapparatus may be controlled using a remote controller.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one embodiment that includes a userInput/Output (I/O) portion in an interface as shown in FIG. 1 whichinteracts with a pointing device as shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing operations included in one embodiment of amethod for operating the image display apparatus.

FIGS. 5 to 10 are diagrams showing examples of screens that may begenerated in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of an image display apparatus whichincludes three independent display units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of an image display apparatus 100 whichincludes a tuner 120, an external signal input portion 128, ademodulator 130, an interface 150, a first controller 160, a secondcontroller 163, a first storage 175, a second storage 178, a firstdisplay 180, a second display 183, and an audio output portion 185.

The tuner 120 selects a Radio Frequency (RF) or other type of broadcastor television signal corresponding to a channel selected by a user fromamong a plurality of broadcast signals received through an antenna. Thetuner down-converts the selected RF broadcast signal into a digitalIntermediate Frequency (IF) signal or analog baseband Audio/Video (A/V)signal.

More specifically, if the selected RF broadcast signal is a digitalbroadcast signal, the tuner 120 down-converts the selected RF broadcastsignal into a digital IF signal, DIF 1. On the other hand, if theselected RF broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal, the tunerdown-converts the selected RF broadcast signal to an analog baseband A/Vsignal, CVBS 1/SIF. That is, the tuner may be a hybrid tuner capable ofprocessing not only digital broadcast signals but also analog broadcastsignals. The analog baseband A/V signal CVBS1/SIF may be directly inputto the first controller 160.

In addition, the tuner 120 may be able to receive RF broadcast signalsfrom an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) single-carriersystem or from a Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) multi-carrier system,as described later.

While the only one tuner 120 is illustratively shown in FIG. 1, otherembodiments of the image display apparatus may include two or moretuners. In the case of using two or more tuners, aside from the RFbroadcast signal received through the tuner 120, a second tuner (notshown) may sequentially or periodically receive a number of RF broadcastsignals corresponding to a number of broadcast channels previouslystored in image display apparatus 100. Like tuner 120, the second tunermay down-convert a received digital RF broadcast signal to a digital IFsignal or a received analog broadcast signal to a baseband A/V signal,CVBS 1/SIF.

The demodulator 130 receives the digital IF signal DIF 1 from the tunerand demodulates the digital IF signal DIF 1.

For example, if the digital IF signal DW 1 is an ATSC signal, thedemodulator may perform 8-Vestigal SideBand (VSB) demodulation on thefirst digital IF signal DIF 1. The demodulator may also perform channeldecoding. For the channel decoding, the demodulator may include aTrellis decoder (not shown), a de-interleaver (not shown) and aReed-Solomon decoder (not shown) and perform Trellis decoding,de-interleaving and Reed-Solomon decoding.

For example, if the digital IF signal DIF 1 is a DVB signal, demodulator130 may perform Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access(COFDMA) demodulation on the first digital IF signal DIF 1. Thedemodulator may also perform channel decoding. For the channel decoding,the demodulator may include a convolution decoder (not shown), ade-interleaver (not shown), and a Reed-Solomon decoder (not shown) andperform convolution decoding, de-interleaving, and Reed-Solomondecoding.

The external signal input portion 128 receives signals from an externaldevice. For reception of the external input signals, the external signalinput portion may include an A/V Input/Output (UO) portion (not shown)and a wireless communication module (not shown).

The external signal input portion 128 may be connected to an externaldevice such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a Bluray disc, a gamingdevice, a camcorder, or a computer (e.g., a laptop computer). Then, theexternal signal input portion externally receives video, audio, and/ordata signals from the external device and transmits the receivedexternal input signals to the first and second controllers 160 and 163.In addition, the external signal input portion may output video, audio,and data signals processed by the first or second controller 160 or 163to the external device.

In order to receive or transmit A/V signals from or to the externaldevice, the A/V I/O portion of external signal input portion 128 mayinclude an Ethernet port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, a CompositeVideo Banking Sync (CVBS) port, a component port, a Super-video(S-video) (analog) port, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port, aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port, a Red-Green-Blue (RGB)port, a D-sub port, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE)-1394 port, a Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF)port, and a LiquidHD port.

Various input signals received through the external signal input portion128 may be input to the first or second controller 160 or 162. Forexample, analog signals received through the CVBS port and the S-videoport may be input to the first or second controller or converted todigital signals by an Analog-to-Digital (A/V) converter (not shown).

The wireless communication module of external signal input portion 128may wirelessly access the Internet. For the wireless Internet access,the wireless communication module may use a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) (i.e., Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMax), and High Speed Downlink Packet Access(HSDPA).

In addition, the wireless communication module may perform short-rangewireless communication with other electronic devices. For theshort-range wireless communication, the wireless communication modulemay use Bluetooth, Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID), Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA), Ultra WideBand (UWB), and ZigBee.

The external signal input portion 128 may be connected to variousset-top boxes through at least one of the Ethernet port, the USB port,the CVBS port, the component port, the S-video port, the DVI port, theHDMI port, the RGB port, the D-sub port, the IEEE-1394 port, the S/PDIFport, and the LiquidHD port and may thus receive data from or transmitdata to the various set-top boxes. For example, when connected to anInternet Protocol Television (IPTV) set-top box, the external signalinput portion 128 may transmit video, audio and data signals processedby the IPTV set-top box to the first or second controller 160 or 163 andmay transmit various signals received from the first or secondcontroller 160 or 163 to the IPTV set-top box.

The term ‘IPTV’ as used herein may cover a broad range of services,depending on transmission networks, such as ADSL-TV, VDSL-TV, FTTH-TV,TV over DSL, Video over DSL, TV over IP (TVIP), Broadband TV (BTV), andInternet TV and full-browsing TV, which are capable of providingInternet-access services.

A digital signal from the external signal input portion 128 may be inputto the first or second controller 160 or 163, for processing. While thedigital signal may comply with various standards, it is shown as asecond stream signal Transport Stream (TS) 2 in FIG. 1. The secondstream signal TS 2 may be a signal in which a video signal, an audiosignal and a data signal are multiplexed. For example, the second streamsignal TS 2 may be an MPEG-2 TS signal obtained by multiplexing anMPEG-2 video signal and a Dolby AC-3 audio signal.

The demodulator 130 may perform demodulation and channel decoding on thedigital IF signal DIF 1 received from the tuner 120, thereby obtaining afirst stream signal TS 1. The first stream signal TS 1 may be a signalin which a video signal, an audio signal and a data signal aremultiplexed. For example, the first stream signal TS 1 may be an MPEG-2TS signal obtained by multiplexing an MPEG-2 video signal and a DolbyAC-3 audio signal. An MPEG-2 TS signal may include a 4-byte header and a184-byte payload.

The first stream signal TS 1 is input to first or second controller 160or 163 and thus subjected to demultiplexing and signal processing. Priorto being input to the first or second controller 160 or 163, the firststream signal TS 1 may be input to a channel browsing processor (notshown) and thus subjected to a channel browsing operation.

In order to properly handle not only ATSC signals but also DVB signals,the demodulator 130 may include an ATSC demodulator and a DVBdemodulator.

The interface 150 transmits a signal received from the user to the firstcontroller 160 or transmits a signal received from the first controller160 to the user. For example, the interface 150 may receive various userinput signals such as a power-on/off signal, a channel selection signal,and a screen setting signal from a remote controller 200 or may transmita signal received from the first controller 160 to the remote controller200. The interface 150 may also transmit signal received from the userto the second controller 163 or transmit a signal received from thesecond controller 163 to the user.

The first controller 160 may demultiplex an input stream signal into anumber of signals and process the demultiplexed signals so that theprocessed signals can be output as A/V data. The first controller mayprovide overall control to the image display apparatus 100. In addition,the first controller 160 may include a demultiplexer (not shown), avideo processor (not shown), an audio processor (not shown), a dataprocessor (not shown), and an On Screen Display (OSD) generator (notshown).

The first controller 160 may control the tuner 120 to select an RFbroadcast signal of a user-selected channel or an RF broadcast signal ofa preliminarily stored channel.

The first controller 160 may demultiplex an input stream signal TS 1 orTS 2, e.g. an MPEG-2 TS signal into a video signal, an audio signal anda data signal.

Thereafter, the first controller 160 may process the video signal. Forexample, if the video signal is an encoded signal, controller 160 maydecode the video signal. More specifically, if the video signal is anMPEG-2 encoded signal, controller 160 may decode the video signal byMPEG-2 decoding. On the other hand, if the video signal is anH.264-encoded DMB or DVB-handheld (DVB-H) signal, the controller 160 maydecode the video signal by H.264 decoding.

In addition, the first controller 160 may adjust the brightness, tintand color of the video signal.

The video signal processed by the first controller 160 is displayed onthe display 180. Alternatively, the video signal processed by the firstcontroller may be output to an external output port connected to anexternal output device (not shown).

The first controller 160 may process the audio signal obtained bydemultiplexing the input stream signal. For example, if the audio signalis an encoded signal, the first controller may decode the audio signal.More specifically, if the audio signal is an MPEG-2 encoded signal, thefirst controller may decode the audio signal by MPEG-2 decoding. On theother hand, if the audio signal is an MPEG-4 Bit Sliced ArithmeticCoding (BSAC)-encoded terrestrial DMB signal, the first controller 160may decode the audio signal by MPEG-4 decoding. On the other hand, ifthe audio signal is an MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)-encoded DMB orDVB-H signal, the first controller 180 may decode the audio signal byAAC decoding.

In addition, the first controller may adjust the base, treble or soundvolume of the audio signal.

The audio signal processed by the first controller is output to theaudio output portion 185, e.g., a speaker. Alternatively, the audiosignal processed by the first controller may be output to an externaloutput port connected to an external output device.

The first controller may process an input analog baseband A/V signalCVBS/SIF. The analog baseband A/V signal CUBS/SIF may be received fromthe tuner 120 or the external signal input portion 128. The processedvideo signal is displayed on the display 180 and the processed audiosignal is output to the audio output portion 185, for example, thespeaker.

The first controller may process the data signal obtained bydemultiplexing the input stream signal. For example, if the data signalis an encoded signal such as an Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which isa guide to scheduled broadcast TV or radio programs, the firstcontroller may decode the data signal. Examples of an EPG includeATSC-Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) information andDVB-Service Information (SI). ATSC-PSIP information or DVB-SIinformation may be included in the header of a TS, i.e., a 4-byte headerof an MPEG-2 TS.

The first controller may perform OSD processing. More specifically, thefirst controller may generate an OSD signal for displaying variouspieces of information on the display as graphic or text data based on auser input signal received from the remote controller 200 and at leastone of a processed video signal and a processed data signal.

The OSD signal may include various data such as a User-Interface (UI)screen, various menu screens, widgets, and icons for image displayapparatus 100.

The second controller 163, like the first controller, may receive thestream signal TS 1 or TS 2 or the analog A/V signal and process video,audio and data signals. Other operations of the second controller arealmost the same as those of the first controller.

The first controller may transmit and receive video and data signals toand from the second controller. While the first and second controllersare shown in FIG. 1 as operating in parallel, the second controller mayalternatively be dependent on the first controller. For example, thesecond controller may receive at least one of search window informationand search result information from the first controller.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first controller processes video anddata signals to be displayed on first display 180 and the secondcontroller processes video and data signals to be displayed on seconddisplay 183.

A search window is displayed on the second display 183 configuredseparately from the first display 180 in the single image displayapparatus. Since the search window displayed on the second display 183does not disturb normal viewing of an image displayed on the firstdisplay, user convenience is increased.

For example, if a search window display command is issued from theremote controller 200 with a broadcast image received through the tuner120 and the demodulator 130 displayed on the first display 180 under thecontrol of the first controller 160, the second controller 163 maycontrol the search window to be displayed on the second display. Thusthe search window can be displayed on the separately procedure seconddisplay, while allowing the user to view an on-going image, therebyincreasing user convenience.

The search window may be based on text or contents.

The text-based search window may be a Help search window in the imagedisplay apparatus or a web browser-based search window in the Web.Search results may appear in text in the text-based search window.

In an exemplary embodiment, the contents-based search window may referto a search window designed for searching for contents or a searchwindow in which the user enters contents as a search term. A text-basedsearch term may be entered in the contents-based search window and nottext but contents files may be presented as search results.

For entering contents as a search term, part of a specific imagedisplayed on first display 160 may be dragged and dropped on thecontents-based search window, for example. There are many availablecontents-based search terms including a video file, an audio file, etc.While the search results may be contents files, they may be other filessuch as but not limited to text files indicating what searched contentsare about.

If contents files are collected as the search results, second controller163 may control a list of images corresponding to the contents files tobe displayed. For example, if the search results are image files,previews of the image files may be displayed. If the search results aremusic files, images indicating the music files may be displayed.

The image creation may be carried out in one of the channel browsingprocessor (not shown), first controller 160, and second controller 163.When the second controller generates the images indicating the contentsfiles, the amount of a signal to be processed by first controller 160may be reduced.

When a search is triggered by entering a specific search term in thesearch window, the search may be made across the image display apparatusor an external device connected to the image display apparatuswirelessly or wiredly. Or the Web may be searched through externalsignal input portion 128.

If the image display apparatus or the external device connectedwirelessly or wiredly to the image display apparatus is searched, thefirst and second storages 175 and 178 may store search engines such as aHelp search engine, a contents file search engine, etc. On the otherhand, in case of a Web search, a search engine available on the Web maybe used.

One or more interfaces (not shown) may be configured between the firstand second controllers 160 and 163.

The first or second storage 175 or 178 may store programs for processingand controlling signals by the first or second controller and may alsostore processed video, audio and data signals. In addition, first orsecond storage 175 or 178 may store a search engine.

The first or second storage 175 or 178 may temporarily store a video,audio or data signal received from external signal input portion 128.

The first or second storage 175 or 178 may include, for example, atleast one of a flash memory-type storage medium, a hard disc-typestorage medium, a multimedia card micro-type storage medium, a card-typememory, a Random Access Memory (RAM) and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) suchas an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM).

The image display apparatus may play a file (such as a moving picturefile, a still image file. a music file, or a text file) stored in firstor second storage 175 or 178 to the user on first or second display 180or 183.

The first or second display 180 or 183 may convert a processed videosignal, a processed data signal, and an OSD signal received from firstor second controller 160 or 163 or a video signal and a data signalreceived from the external signal input portion 128 to Red, Green, Blue(RGB) signals, thereby generating driving signals.

The first or second display 180 or 183 may correspond to into one of avariety of types of displays such as a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), aLiquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), aflexible display, and a three-dimensional (3D) display. According to oneembodiment, the first and second displays are not different sections ofa single display screen, but rather independent display units whichoperate independently and at times in cooperation with one another asdescribed herein. The independent operation may be achieved through thefirst and second controllers. The first or second display may also beimplemented as a touch screen so that it is used not only as an outputdevice but also as an input device.

More specifically, the image display apparatus may have two separatedisplays 180 and 183 and first and second controllers 160 and 163 forindependently controlling the first and second displays, respectively.

Aside from images displayed on the first display 180, the second display183 may be used to display Picture-In-Picture (PIP) images, additionalmenus, additional contents data, etc. In this context, the seconddisplay 183 may be referred to as a media bar. Because a menu can bedisplayed on the second display without disturbing images displayed onthe first display in the single image display apparatus, userconvenience is increased. More than two displays may be included inother embodiments. For example, three or more displays can beimplemented in the image display apparatus as shown in FIG. 11.Accordingly, more controllers may be provided to control the respectivedisplays. The second display may be disposed at one of various positionswith respect to the first display, for example, above, below, on theleft side of, or on the right side of the first display.

The audio output portion 185 may receive a processed audio signal (e.g.,a stereo signal, a 3.1-channel signal or a 5.1-channel signal) from thefirst or second controller 160 or 163 and output the received audiosignal as voice. The audio output portion 185 may be implemented intovarious types of speakers.

The remote controller 200 transmits a user input to the interface 150.For the transmission of a user input, the remote controller may usevarious communication techniques such as Bluetooth, RF, IR, UWB andZigBee. In addition, the remote controller may receive a video signal,an audio signal and a data signal from the interface 150 and output thereceived signals. Also, the remote controller may be a pointing device,for example, as described with reference to FIG. 2.

The channel browsing processor may further be provided to the imagedisplay apparatus 100 to generate thumbnail images corresponding tobroadcast signals of channels or external input signals. The channelbrowsing processor may be positioned between the demodulator 130 and thefirst or second controller 160 or 163, or between the external signalinput portion 128 and the first or second controller.

The channel browsing processor (not shown) may receive the stream signalTS 1 from the demodulator 130 or the stream signal TS 2 from theexternal signal input portion 128 and extract video signals from thereceived stream signal, thereby generating thumbnail images. Thethumbnail images may be input to the first or second controller 160 or163 directly or after being encoded. It is also possible to encode thethumbnail image to a stream and input the stream to the first or secondcontroller. Thus the first or second controller may display a thumbnaillist including a plurality of thumbnail images on first or seconddisplay 180 or 183.

The image display apparatus may be a fixed digital broadcast receivercapable of receiving at least one of ATSC (8-VSB) broadcast programs,DVB-T (COFDM) broadcast programs, and ISDB-T (BST-OFDM) broadcastprograms or may be a mobile digital broadcast receiver capable ofreceiving at least one of terrestrial DMB broadcast programs, satelliteDMB broadcast programs, ATSC-M/H broadcast programs, DVB-H (COFDM)broadcast programs, and Media Forward Link Only (MediaFLO) broadcastprograms. Alternatively, the image display apparatus may be a digitalbroadcast receiver capable of receiving cable broadcast programs,satellite broadcast programs or IPTV programs.

Examples of the image display apparatus include a TV receiver, a mobilephone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcast receiver, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA) and a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP).

FIGS. 2A and 2B show examples of remote controller 200 in FIG. 1. Thisremote controller may be a pointing device 301, which may be a kind ofremote controller for transmitting or otherwise entering a command intothe image display apparatus. In accordance with one example, thepointing device may transmit or receive RF signals to or from the imagedisplay apparatus according to an RF communication standard. Asillustrated in FIG. 2A, a pointer 302 indicating the movement of thepointing device 301 may be displayed on the image display apparatus.

The user may move the pointing device up and down, back and forth, andside to side or may rotate the pointing device. The pointer 302 moves inaccordance with the movement of the pointing device 301, as illustratedin FIG. 2B.

Referring to FIG. 2B, if the user moves the pointing device to the left,the pointer 302 moves to the left accordingly. The pointing deviceincludes a sensor capable of detecting motions. The sensor of thepointing device detects the movement of the pointing device andtransmits motion information corresponding to the result of thedetection to the image display apparatus. Then, the image displayapparatus determines the movement of the pointing device 301 based onthe motion information received from the pointing device and calculatesthe coordinates of a target point to which the pointer should be shiftedin accordance with the movement of spatial remote control based on theresult of the determination.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the pointer 302 moves according to whetherthe pointing device 301 moves vertically or horizontally or rotates. Themoving speed and direction of the pointer may correspond to the movingspeed and direction of the pointing device. In addition, the pointer maymove across the first and second displays 180 and 183.

In this exemplary embodiment, the pointer moves in accordance with themovement of the pointing device. Alternatively, an operation command maybe input to the image display apparatus in response to the movement ofthe pointing device. That is, as the pointing device moves back andforth, an image displayed on the image display apparatus may begradually enlarged or reduced. Accordingly, this exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention does not limit the scope and spirit of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 shows pointing device 301 in FIGS. 2A and 2B and interface 150 inFIG. 1. This pointing device may include a wireless communication module320, a user input portion 330, a sensor portion 340, an output portion350, a power supply 360, a memory 370, and a controller 380.

The wireless communication module 320 may transmit signals to and/orreceive signals from the image display apparatus. The wirelesscommunication module may include an RF module 321 for transmitting RFsignals to and/or receiving RF signals from the interface 150 of theimage display apparatus according to an RF communication standard. Thewireless communication module may also include an InfraRed (IR) module323 for transmitting IR signals to and/or receiving IR signals from theinterface of the image display apparatus according to an IRcommunication standard.

The pointing device 301 transmits motion information regarding themovement of the pointing device to the image display apparatus throughthe RF module 321 in this exemplary embodiment. The pointing device mayalso receive signals from the image display apparatus through the RFmodule. The pointing device may transmit commands to the image displayapparatus through the IR module, when needed, such as a power on/offcommand, a channel switching command, or a sound volume change command.

The user input portion 330 may include a keypad and/or a plurality ofbuttons. The user may enter commands to the image display apparatus bymanipulating the user input portion. If the user input portion includesa plurality of hard-key buttons, the user may input various commands tothe image display apparatus by pressing the hard-key buttons.Alternatively or additionally, if the user input portion includes atouch screen displaying a plurality of soft keys, the user may inputvarious commands to the image display apparatus by touching the softkeys. The user input portion may also include various input tools otherthan those set forth herein, such as a scroll and/or jog key.

The sensor portion 340 may include a gyro sensor 341 and/or anacceleration sensor 343. The gyro sensor 341 may sense the movement ofthe pointing device 301, for example, in X-, Y-, and Z-axis directions,and the acceleration sensor 343 may sense the moving speed of thepointing device 301.

The output portion 350 may output a video and/or audio signalcorresponding to a manipulation of the user input portion 330 or asignal transmitted by the image display apparatus. The user may easilyidentify whether the user input portion has been manipulated or whetherthe image display apparatus has been controlled based on the videoand/or audio signal output by the output portion.

The output portion 350 may include a Light Emitting Diode (LED) module351 which is turned on or off whenever the user input portion 330 ismanipulated or whenever a signal is received from or transmitted to theimage display apparatus through the wireless communication module 320, avibration module 353 which generates vibrations, an audio output module355 which outputs audio data, and a display module 357 which outputsvideo data.

The power supply 360 supplies power to the pointing device 301. If thepointing device is kept stationary for a predetermined time or longer,the power supply may, for example, reduce or cut off supply of power tothe pointing device in order to save power. The power supply 360 mayresume the power supply if a specific key on the pointing device ismanipulated.

The memory 370 may store various application data for controlling ordriving the pointing device 301. The pointing device may wirelesslytransmit signals to and/or receive signals from the image displayapparatus in a predetermined frequency band with the aid of RF module321. The controller 380 of the pointing device may store informationregarding the frequency band used for the pointing device to wirelesslytransmit signals to and/or wirelessly receive signals from the pairedimage display apparatus in the memory and may then refer to thisinformation for a later use.

The controller 380 provides overall control to pointing device 301. Forexample, the controller 380 may transmit a signal corresponding to a keymanipulation detected from the user input portion 330 or a signalcorresponding to a motion of the pointing device, as sensed by thesensor portion 340, to the interface 150 of the image display apparatus.

The interface 150 may include a wireless communication module 311 whichwirelessly transmits signals to and/or wirelessly receives signals frompointing device 301, and a coordinate calculator 315 which calculates apair of coordinates indicating the position of the pointer 302 on thedisplay screen that is to be moved in accordance with the movement ofthe pointing device.

The wireless communication module 311 includes an RF module 312 and anIR module 313. The RF module 312 may wirelessly transmit RF signals toand/or wirelessly receive RF signals from the RF module 321 of thepointing device 301. And, the IR module 313 may wirelessly transmit IRsignals to and/or wirelessly receive IR signals from the IR module 321of the pointing device 301.

The coordinate calculator 315 may receive motion information regardingthe movement of pointing device 301 from the wireless communicationmodule 320 of the pointing device and may calculate a pair ofcoordinates (x, y) indicating the position of pointer 302 on a screen ofthe first display by correcting the motion information for possibleerrors such as a user's handshake.

A signal received in image display apparatus 100 from pointing device301 through interface 150 may be transmitted to first or secondcontroller 160 or 163. Then, the first or second controller may acquireinformation regarding the movement of pointing device and informationregarding a key manipulation detected from the pointing device from thesignal received from the interface 150, and may control the imagedisplay apparatus based on the acquired information.

The image display apparatus, remote controller, and pointing device(which may operate as a kind of the remote controller) are shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3 as having a number of components in a givenconfiguration. However, the image display apparatus, remote controller,and/or pointing device may include fewer components or additionalcomponents than those shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in alternativeembodiments.

Also, two or more components of the image display apparatus, remotecontroller 200, and/or pointing device 301 may be combined into a singlecomponent or a single component thereof may be separated into two morecomponents in alternative embodiments. The functions of the componentsof the image display apparatus, remote controller, and pointing deviceas set forth herein are illustrative in nature and may be modified tosatisfy, for example, the purposes of a given application.

FIG. 4 shows operations included in one embodiment of a method foroperating the image display apparatus, and FIGS. 5 to 10 show screenswhich may be generated in accordance with this method.

Referring to FIG. 4, an image is displayed in step S410. The image maybe displayed on the first display 180 and may be a broadcast imagereceived from tuner 120, an external input image received from theexternal signal input portion 128, or an image of multimedia datareproduced from the first or second storage 175 or 178. The image may bea still image or a moving picture. FIGS. 5( a), 6(a), 7(a), 8(a) and9(a) respectively illustrate images 510, 610, 710, 810 and 910 displayedon the first display 180.

In step S415, it is determined whether a search window display commandhas been received. Specifically, the first or second display 160 or 163determines whether the search window display command has been receivedfrom the user through the remote controller 200.

Upon receipt of the search window display command, a search window isdisplayed in step S420. Preferably, the search window is displayedseparately from the image that is being displayed. Accordingly, as thesearch window is displayed on an additional display without disturbingthe image being displayed on the first display 180, user convenience isincreased. The second controller 163 may control the search window to bedisplayed on the second display 183.

For example, when the image display apparatus further includes thesecond display 183 in addition to the first display 180 as illustratedin FIGS. 5( b), 6(b), 7(b), 8(b) and 9(b), search windows 520, 620, 720,820 and 920 may be displayed on the second display 183 whereas theimages 510, 610, 710, 810 and 910 may be displayed on the first display180.

The search window may be a text-based search window. For example, thesearch window may be the text-based search window 520 that operates by asearch engine available on the Web, as illustrated in FIG. 5( b). Theimage display apparatus may be connected to a predetermined Web site viathe Ethernet port, the wireless communication module, or the IPTVset-top box of the afore-described external signal input portion 128,download a search window from the Web site, and display the downloadedsearch window as the search window 510 based on the Web search engine onthe first display 180.

The search window may also be the text-based search window 620 designedfor implementing a “Help” function in the image display apparatus 100,as illustrated in FIG. 6( b).

The search window may be a contents-based search window. For example,the search window may be the search window 720 for searching forcontents, as illustrated in FIG. 7( b). While it is shown in FIG. 7 thata text search term is entered in the search window 720 based on a Websearch engine, the search window 720 is classified as a contents-basedsearch window since it is designed for contents search. A search acrossthe Web may be performed through the Ethernet port, the wirelesscommunication module, or the IPTV set-top box of the external signalinput portion 128.

For example, the search window may be the contents-based search window820 for searching the image display apparatus or an external deviceconnected wirelessly or wiredly to the image display apparatus forcontents, as illustrated in FIG. 8( b). While it is shown in FIG. 8 thata text search term is entered in the search window, the search window isclassified as a contents-based search window since it is designed forcontents search.

The search window may be the contents-based search window 920 in which asearch term being contents is entered, as illustrated in FIG. 9( b). Thesearch term may be an image or file.

Referring to FIG. 4 again, it is determined whether a search term hasbeen entered completely in the search window in step S425. Specifically,the second controller 163 determines whether the user has completedentering a search term. For example, depending on whether a searchobject or a a search icon displayed along with the search window hasbeen selected, the second controller 163 may determine whether thesearch term entry has been finished.

During the search term entry, an auto-completion function may beimplemented while the user is tying in a search term. Forauto-completion of search terms, entered search terms have been storedin the first or second storage 715 or 178. The second controller 163 maycontrol possible suggestions associated with the search term entered inthe search window to be retrieved from the first or second storage andto be displayed in the search window.

As described before, the search term may be text, contents itself, orinformation indicating contents. For example, words (e.g. service centerand Doctor House) may be entered as a search term as illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, various other searchterms are available, such as contents information (title, date, size,contents, etc.), contents types (image, movie, music, text, etc.), andcontents file names (avi, jpg, mp3, etc.). In addition, video data oraudio data may be used as a search term.

When the search term entry is completed, search results matching thesearch term are collected in step S430 and displayed in step S435.

The first or second controller 160 or 163 may collect the search resultsmatching the search term, and the second controller may control thesearch results to be displayed on the second display 183.

If the search is made across the Web, the first or second controller 160or 163 may receive search results collected on the Web through theEthernet port, the wireless communication module, or the IPTV set-topbox of the external signal input portion 128. In FIGS. 7( a) and 7(b),it is shown that contents are searched for on the Web and thus searchresults 730 are displayed on the second display 183.

If the image display apparatus or the external device connectedwirelessly or wiredly to the image display apparatus is searched inrelation to the search term, the first or second controller 160 or 163may perform the search using a search engine stored in the first orsecond storage 175 or 178. For example, when “Service Center” is typedin into the Help search window 620 in the image display apparatus 100 asillustrated in FIG. 6( b), search results 630 indicating the positionsof service centers as retrieved from the first or second storage 715 or178 may be displayed as illustrated in FIG. 6( c).

If “image” is entered in the search window 820 to search for contents inFIG. 8( b), the image display apparatus 100 or the external deviceconnected wirelessly or wiredly to the image display apparatus 100 issearched and search results 830 may be displayed as illustrated in FIG.8( c).

As illustrated in FIG. 9( b), if at least part of an image 910, that is,a character region of image 910 is dragged from first display 180 andthen dropped on the search window 920 in order to search for contents,search results 930 matching to the character region, that is,information concerning a character in the character region may bedisplayed as illustrated in FIG. 9( c).

In the case where metadata indicating an object (e.g. a character, aplace, a product, etc.) included in a broadcast image or an externalinput image is received in a stream signal, search results matching thecontents of the metadata may be collected. The metadata may be extractedby demultiplexing the stream in the first or second controller 160 or163.

In the illustrated case of FIG. 9( b), metadata corresponding to part ofthe image 910 displayed on the first display 180 includes informationconcerning the character and thus the information concerning thecharacter is displayed as the search results on the second display 183.

In addition, if part of an image displayed on the first display 180, forexample, a place or a product appearing in the image is dragged anddropped in the search window, information concerning the place or theproduct may be displayed as search results on the second display 183.

If a broadcast image displayed on the first display is dragged anddropped in the search window, broadcast information may be displayed assearch results, including the title of a program corresponding to thebroadcast image and the start time and end time of the program. Thebroadcast information may be extracted by demultiplexing a streamcarrying the broadcast information in the first or second controller 160or 163.

It is also possible to display image information including informationconcerning a coding scheme of an image, the producer of the image, etc.as search results. The image information may be extracted bydemultiplexing a stream carrying the image information or decoding ademultiplexed video signal in the first or second controller 160 or 163.

On the other hand, if search results are contents, images indicating thecontents may be displayed as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. A list of aplurality of images is shown to be displayed on the second display 183in FIGS. 7( c) and 8(c). Hence, the user can intuitively identify whatthe contents are about. When a specific image is selected from the imagelist, an image corresponding to the selected image may be displayed onthe first display 180.

The image may be generated in an image generator (not shown). The imagegenerator may be included in the first controller 160, the secondcontroller 163, or the channel browsing processor, but particularly inthe second controller to thereby reduce the amount of data to beprocessed by the first controller. While contents are shown as imagesherein, to which the present invention is not limited, voice files, textfiles, etc. may be indicated in the form of images.

In this manner, the search windows 520, 620, 720, 820 and 920 or thesearch results 530, 630, 730, 830 and 930 can be displayed on the seconddisplay 183, while the images 510, 610, 710, 810 and 910 are displayedon the first display 180. Therefore, the user can perform an additionaloperation readily while viewing an on-going image without disturbance.Hence, user convenience is increased.

The second controller 163 may receive at least one of search windowinformation and search results information from the first controller160.

The first or second storage 715 or 178, particularly the second storage718 may store search results. A list is created with the search results,so that the search result list may be retrieved later upon request ofthe search results. Accordingly, the user can view previous searchresults easily.

In the case where a search is performed not across the Web but acrossthe image display apparatus 100 or the external device connectedwirelessly or wiredly to the image display apparatus 100, the first orsecond controller 160 or 163 may perform the search according to aninput search term using the search engine stored in the first or secondstorage 175 or 178.

A search window and search results are shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 to bedisplayed on the second display 183, while an image is displayed on thefirst display 180. However, the present invention is not limited to thespecific exemplary applications. For example, it may be contemplatedthat a third display (not shown) is additionally provided to the imagedisplay apparatus 100 and thus the search window and the search resultsare displayed on the second display 183 and the third display,respectively, with the image displayed on the first display 180. A thirdcontroller (not shown) may be responsible for controlling the thirddisplay.

Referring to FIG. 4 again, it is determined whether a scroll command hasbeen received while the search results are displayed in step S440.Specifically, the first or second display 160 or 163 determines whetherthere is a scroll command to further view the search results on thesecond display 183.

For example, it may be determined whether a scroll object 1035 displayedon the second display 183 has been selected through the remotecontroller 200 as illustrated in FIG. 10( a).

The scroll command may be issued by a cursor movement of the remotecontroller 200, a pointer movement of the pointing device 301, or auser's gesture. While it is shown in FIG. 10( a) that a right scrollcommand is issued, to which the present invention is not limited, left,up, and down scroll commands are also available.

Upon receipt of the scroll command, a screen with the search results isscrolled according to the scroll command in step S445. The first orsecond controller 160 or 163 controls scrolled search results to bedisplayed on the second display 183 according to the scroll command. Forexample, if a right scroll command has been received with search results1030 presented in a search window 1020 on the second display 183 asillustrated in FIG. 10( a), search results 1040 obtained by scrollingthe search window 1020 to the right are displayed on the second display183, as illustrated in FIG. 10( b). As the search results can bescrolled in this way, the user can easily view search results that arenot displayed due to the size of the second display 183.

The image display apparatus and the operation method therefore accordingto the foregoing exemplary embodiments are not restricted to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Therefore, variations andcombinations of the exemplary embodiments set forth herein may fallwithin the scope of the present invention.

The operation method of an image display apparatus according to theforegoing exemplary embodiments may be implemented as code that can bewritten on a computer-readable recording medium and can thus be read bya processor. The computer-readable recording medium may be any type ofrecording device in which data is stored in a computer-readable manner.

Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a ROM, a RAM,a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage, and acarrier wave (e.g., data transmission through the internet). Thecomputer-readable recording medium can be distributed over a pluralityof computer systems connected to a network so that computer-readablecode is written thereto and executed therefrom in a decentralizedmanner. Functional programs, code, and code segments needed forrealizing the embodiments herein can be construed by one of ordinaryskill in the art.

According to one or more of the aforementioned exemplary embodiments,when a specific menu, particularly a search window is selected duringdisplaying an image, the search window is displayed on an additionalsecond display in a single image display apparatus. As a user is allowedto view the on-going image despite an additional task, user convenienceis increased.

Since search results matching a search term entered in the search windoware displayed on the second display, the user convenience is furtherincreased. If the search results are contents, images corresponding tothe contents are displayed. Thus, the user can intuitively identify whatthe contents are about. Furthermore, the search results can be scrolled,so that the user navigates the search results easily. In the case wherethe search results are contents, if a specific image is selected from alist of images indicating the contents, an image corresponding to theselected image is displayed on a first display. Thus the user can easilyview his desired image.

One or more embodiments described herein provide an image displayapparatus and an operation method therefore.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method for operating animage display apparatus having a first display and a second displaydifferent from the first display, which includes displaying an image onthe first display, displaying a search window on the second display, anddisplaying search results matching a search term entered in the searchwindow.

According to another aspect, there is provided an image displayapparatus including a first display, a second display different from thefirst display, a first controller for controlling the first display todisplay an image, and a second controller for controlling the seconddisplay to display a search window.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

The terms “module” and “portion” attached to describe the names ofcomponents are used herein to help the understanding of the componentsand thus they should not be considered as having specific meanings orroles. Accordingly, the terms “module” and “portion” may beinterchangeable in their use

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments, it should be understood that numerous othermodifications and/or combinations of the embodiments described hereincan be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within thespirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. Moreparticularly, various variations and modifications are possible in thecomponent parts and/or arrangements of the subject combinationarrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and theappended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in thecomponent parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

1. A method for controlling display of information, comprising:displaying an image on a first display; displaying a search window on asecond display; and displaying search results that match a search terminput into the search window, wherein the first display and seconddisplay are in a same image display device and wherein the first displayand the second display are independent display units.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the search results are displayed on the second display.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results are displayed on athird display different from the first and second displays.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the search term includes a text-based termand wherein the displayed search results match the text-based searchterm.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the search term is generated bydragging and dropping an image from the first display to the searchwindow in the second display and wherein the search results correspondto at least part of the image dragged or dropped into the search window.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the search results include at leastone of: broadcast information corresponding to the image, codinginformation corresponding to the image, information corresponding to aproduct appearing in the image, information corresponding to a place orlocation appearing in the image, or information corresponding to aperson or a character appearing in the image.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the search results are obtained by performing a search based ona circuit or browser operated within the image display device oroperated within an external device coupled to the image display device.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results are obtained basedon a Web search.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: scrollingthe search results in response to a scroll command.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: displaying a search term corresponding tothe search term input into the window.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising: storing the search results.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein a list of images corresponding to the search results aredisplayed.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: outputtingcontents corresponding to a selected one of the images.
 14. The methodof claim 1, wherein the images are still images or moving pictureimages.
 15. An image display apparatus comprising: a first display; asecond display different from the first display; a first controller tocontrol the first display to display an image; and a second controllerto control the second display to display a search window simultaneouslywith display of the image in the first display and wherein the firstdisplay and the second display are independent display units.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the second controller controls the seconddisplay to display search results matching a search term entered in thesearch window.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the secondcontroller receives at least one of information corresponding the searchwindow or information corresponding to the search results from the firstcontroller.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: a tunerto receive a broadcast signal of a selected channel or a broadcastsignal of a preliminarily stored channel; and an external input toreceive an external signal, wherein the image is a broadcast image or anexternal input image.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:an image generator to generate one or more images obtained from a searchperformed using the search window.
 20. A method for controlling displayof information, comprising: displaying an image on a first display;displaying a search window on a second display simultaneously with theimage displayed on the first display; and displaying search resultsmatching a search term entered into the search window while the imageand the search window are respectively displayed on the first and seconddisplays.